Thunder Cove

The beach at Thunder Cove is one of the most beautiful beaches on Prince Edward Island. The gorgeous red sand beach, tinted by iron oxide, is pristine and appears to stretch into forever. 

Sandstone cliffs along the length of beach are easily eroded and this process has always been a source of interest for residents and visitors alike. 

The sea’s sustained assault on the sandstone creates interesting shapes, holes and crevasses which are tempting for people to explore. This is not a safe practice however as the cliffs above collapse when the supporting sandstone is undermined.

Then there are the sea stacks around the island, the most famous of which is the Tea Cup at Thunder Cove. Created by erosion, they too draw people, as this one drew us on a recent visit to the Cove. 

We hadn’t seen the Tea Cup in several years and it was interesting to compare it to previous photos. The Tea Cup is not much different although the stem of the cup has narrowed. Every spring people expect to find the cup collapsed but it has defied the elements thus far. Its time is running out.

Meanwhile, one of two other sea stacks nearby has changed more noticeably since it lost its connection to the cliff.

The soil and sandstone nearby illustrate the danger of getting too close to the cliffs. 

We enjoy the cliffs at a safe distance and the sea stacks as long as the exhibit lasts.

  

Adventures with Georgie

When our daughter is working night shifts, we take the golden grand-dog, Georgie, for a few days. She loves any walk but especially those on the boardwalk where there are lots of dogs and other animals. 

Every morning after breakfast she begins her “Let’s go for a walk,” behaviour. The silent stand and stare at my husband and I are the hardest to ignore. We would feel guilty if we didn’t take her. When we say, “Let’s go for a walk,” the dog does a little dance with her front paws. 

Georgie especially enjoys the squirrels and chipmunks. She stands firmly to watch them with a look of intense interest, head lowered. It is not easy to take her away from them.

During a recent squirrel encounter, the little rodent teased Georgie. It was high in a tree but came down to the base of the tree and approached her.

                           Can you see the squirrel coming down the tree?

When Georgie pulled on the lead to move towards it,

the squirrel scurried up the tree and sat on a twig to look down at the dog again. It repeated the behaviour a second time. 

The squirrel appeared to understand the dog could not reach it and didn’t mind approaching. You could almost hear the furry little critter saying, “Na-na, na, na-na. You can’t catch me,” as it looked down from on high.

The world would be a sadder, lonelier place without animals.

Question and answer:

Boud at https://fieldfen.blogspot.com/ and 

Perth Daily Photo at http://perthdailyphoto.blogspot.com/

asked about the red sandy beach in the last post titled Relief.

The soil and sandstone on Prince Edward Island are rich in iron. Exposure to air results in oxidation, creating the red coloured iron oxide or rust.

There are some beaches on the island where the iron oxide is washed away by the wave action in that area. One such example is the beach at Greenwich, Prince Edward Island, part of the National Park.